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Boom times for Texas' big house Prison growth shown in latest census data 05/23/2001 By Todd J. Gillman / The Dallas Morning News
Everyone's a number to the Census Bureau, but members of one of the
fastest-growing groups in Texas are used to that.
They're state prison inmates, and their ranks more than tripled in the
1990s – a growth rate that eclipsed that of just about every ethnic,
racial, or family group in the government head count.
Prison growth was planned, of course, with a massive construction effort
that added 100,000 beds to the strained penal system.
Other changes reflected in census data made public Wednesday were just
as predictable, such as the fact that Texas is aging along with its baby
boomers.
But in many ways, the state bucked expectations and national trends.
The number of families with children grew nearly three times faster in
Texas than nationwide, for instance. Demographers credit the explosive
growth among Hispanics, who tend to be younger and have more children
than other groups.
The Ward and June Cleaver ideal – a married couple with kids – remains
the norm in Texas, even though the nuclear family lost ground compared
with other household types in the 1990s.
Texas has 4 million married couples, 553,000 more than it did a decade
ago. That's a 14 percent growth rate. Two out of three such couples have
children.
But single-parent homes now account for one in 10 households. The number
of single moms grew 35 percent, to 564,000. Single dads rose by
two-thirds, to 157,000. And the number of unmarried partners living
together shot up 88 percent, to 654,492 people, outpacing the 72 percent
national growth rate.
Growth in those categories eroded the supremacy of the nuclear family.
Married couples still make up a majority of households, but their share
slipped from 56.6 percent to 54 percent.
"There has been a dramatic shift," said sociology professor Rudy Ray
Seward of the University of North Texas, author of The American
Family: A Demographic History.
Among the explanations is that since the 1950s, men and women alike have
waited longer to marry. Also, working women are less dependent on husbands
for financial security. As for the single dads, most seem to be divorced
or separated, since there's no evidence that single men adopt in great
numbers.
"I don't think the family's going to disappear any time soon," he said.
"Most people still end up getting married. ... A large percentage of
people still have that traditional view of the family, even though we're
living outside that for longer periods."
National households
Nationally, the number of family households grew half as fast as the
number of nonfamily households – roommates, people living alone and
unmarried partners. In Texas, the growth rates for family and nonfamily
households were nearly identical. It's another trend that stems largely
from the state's big Hispanic population.
"We're looking at a population base that is about 53 percent Anglo, and
the national population base is more like 72 percent Anglo," said Texas
state demographer Steve Murdock.
Texas, with half its population under 32.3 years, is younger than
average; the national median age is 35.3. Again, thank the Hispanic
population surge for keeping the state young. Roughly four of every 10
Texans under age 18 are Hispanic.
The latest Texas figures include preliminary information on family
structure and age. The Census Bureau released national figures earlier
this month, and more detailed data on a state-by-state basis since then.
More details, including education, income and nation of origin, are due
by summer.
Building prisons
One of the most sweeping demographic changes in Texas came not through
birthrates, death rates or immigration, but through public policy. A
decade ago, facing a huge shortage in prison beds, state lawmakers won
voter approval for $2 billion in bonds for new penitentiaries.
On Census Day 1990, Texas held 48,320 prisoners. On April 1 of last
year, the number was 151,910, a 214 percent increase.
"We show up on so many charts as having grown exponentially," said Glen
Castlebury, director of public information for the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice. But a decade ago, he said, the state had a
"humongous backlog of prisoners" who either were paroled before
imprisonment or spent much of their sentences in county jails.
Texas' prison growth far outstripped the nation's. Nationally, the
number of state prisoners grew by 72 percent from 1990 to 2000,
according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Texas had the nation's second-highest incarceration rate, with 779
inmates for every 100,000 residents, trailing only Louisiana, with 793.
The national average is 481, which happens also to be California's rate.
Florida's rate is 465, New York's 393.
"It was a massive construction effort," Mr. Castlebury said, "the
largest public works project in the history of the world."
Prisoners are tracked by the census in a household category called
"institutionalized." The category includes residents of nursing homes
and assisted-living facilities, whose numbers also grew as the
population aged.
Statewide, the number of households with a resident 65 or older grew 20
percent.
Average household size declined in 196 of 254 counties but rose slightly
statewide. Again, demographers point to the Hispanic influence, and not
to changing lifestyles. Growth areas – the border counties and major
cities – overlapped with regions of high-paced Hispanic growth.
"The fact that the average household size has increased does not mean
that we've decided that we're more likely to have families and have more
children. None of that is in this data," said Dr. Murdock.
Baby boomers
Like the rest of the nation, Texas couldn't escape the aging of its baby
boomers, the 76 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964.
A decade ago, half the state's residents were under 30.8 years old. By
2000, the state's median age had crept up 1.5 years – a big jump in
demographic terms.
The youngest counties nearly all border Mexico, although the pace-setter
is well inland: Brazos County, home to Texas A&M, where half the
residents are younger than 23.6 years old.
The next-youngest counties – Starr, Webb, Hidalgo and Maverick counties
– fit the Hispanic archetype, where young parents and larger families
are more common.
But for a glimpse of Texas' demographic future, look to the graying
rural areas beyond the cities and the Rio Grande Valley.
By 2030, one in five Americans are expected to be 65 or older. Already,
38 Texas counties have hit that mark, nearly all of them in rural areas
and West Texas.
Older counties
Six counties have median ages higher than 45. In the oldest, Llano County,
northwest of Austin, half the population is at least 53, and more than 30
percent of residents have reached age 65. It's one of the nation's oldest
counties.
As the county's 911 and emergency management coordinator, Ron Moore
keeps a close watch on growth patterns. The county held the same
oldest-in-Texas distinction in the 1990 census. Back then, the median
age was even higher, at 55.4 years A burst of development on the
county's east side, a lakeside area a 60-mile commute from Austin, had
some residents hoping to shake the fusty image.
"We thought it might change because the county has changed
substantially," Mr. Moore said.
The self-proclaimed deer capital of Texas, Llano sees an annual
migration of hunters. But that's mainly on the west side, where
ranchland is plentiful. On the east side, there's Sunrise Beach,
population 704, one of the state's oldest communities, with a median age
of 59.2 years. But there's also a new school there, and in the county
seat, Llano city – signs of rejuvenation.
"They're coming here from Austin, San Antonio," said Mr. Moore. "We
don't really have growth problems or traffic. It's a much more laid-back
lifestyle."
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